Hotspot usage

[Russellvh]

My cell phone plan comes with Hotspot coverage. To watch tv, use the computer etc. would it make a difference if I had an actual hotspot unit (and installed the sym card from an extra phone) or just used the Hotspot on that extra phone?

 

[Neal]

Hotspot means your phone can act as a Wi-Fi router and other devices can connect to it to use it's cellular connectivity for Internet access.

 

[Russellvh]

Hotspot means your phone can act as a Wi-Fi router and other devices can connect to it to use it's cellular connectivity for Internet access.

Thanks, I know what it does, I was wondering if how I used it ( in a hotspot unit or in a phone) makes a difference?

 

[Russellvh]

Sorry to drag this out but one question seems to lead to another.
I have the Winegard 360. If I add the gateway could I just move the sim card from an extra phone to the gateway?

 

[Neal]

I believe if you put a phone sim in a tablet or router then it will use the available hotspot data allocation. As for the Winegard question I defer to @WiFiRanger

 

[Npostusa]

Ok, I am too tired to make too much sense, but I am wondering if you have a 5G network on a phone does it make sense to use airplay and play off of say an IPad or TV device?

 

[bpaikman]

Following. I have a Jetpak somewhere, but I'd been using the phone hotspot for the past year. It's annoying, because after VERY brief inactivity, it will drop me. Like 30-45 seconds, it seems.

 

[CaptainGizmo]

My cell phone plan comes with Hotspot coverage. To watch tv, use the computer etc. would it make a difference if I had an actual hotspot unit (and installed the sym card from an extra phone) or just used the Hotspot on that extra phone?

The answer is “depends” on a few things:

-what kind of “actual hotspot unit” will you use? A dedicated 5G router, properly installed, will give the best overall performance.

-what kind of “extra phone” is it? A late model iPhone 5G’s modems will blow away a cheap hotspot or older phone.

-the “SIM card” from an iPhone will NOT give you anywhere near the performance when used in another device. This is due to priority provisioning by the carrier and can’t be cheated. You’ll have one or more of the following; decreased speed, data throttling, or complete blocking.

 

[redbaron]

I disagree with one point @CaptainGizmo :

Your sim card taken from a 5G device such as iPhone or Android will provide the best performance on a peplink, often surpassing what the iPhone itself does if paired with a better antenna.

The only thing you can do to improve speed even more is to get the iPhone provisioned as FirstNet.

Going with a phone sim is very expensive for bandwidth. There are cheaper ways.

At&T Business Unlimited Tablet Plan 5G: $20
TMobile Business Unlimited Tablet Plan: $10

These are available currently from the providers above. You must use these with a tablet and TTL of a tablet.

Verizon has plans too, but for the Verizon network I am using a prepaid phone plan, that I enable only when required. For Verizon this is the cheapest way to get unlimited HD streaming and data.

Using the tablet 5G plan simultaneously with a phone plan 5G in identical equipment, the phone was much better performing. 22ms latency vs 85ms, and 800Mb/s download vs 560Mb/s on tablet.

Both are really good. When using my tablet plan with FirstNet, I am able to get 17ms and 950Mb/s at the same session.

FirstNet has the advantage of never getting traffic management. Ever since I installed the FirstNet sim, I have felt like I was on fiber.

 

[CaptainGizmo]

Hey @redbaron, well you’re not disagreeing with me at all. You’re solidifying the point that simply swapping a SIM from your iPhone into a Pepwave or Cradlepoint won’t be the magic pill.

I’ve actually done this and have worked with a T-Mobile software designer. We dropped my simple a “Tablet” SIM into a CradlePoint and T-Mobile actually blocked it completely.
We also have TMO 5G data card now and it’s nowhere near the speed of the iPhone. We have firstnet ATT SIM in the CP and it, too, never gets speeds of an iPhone.

Bottom line is the we’ve had a bunch of CradlePoint 1700 routers all over the nation and never getting speeds over 90MB with one exception. We’re running a 5G hotspot with a USB bridge into the cradlepoint. The hotspot is boosted with a weBOOST and the signal fed into the CP via wire. The speeds are insane..nearly 200mb!

So yeah…without doing some heavy lifting like you did, you’re not gonna get magic with a simple sim swap.

I kinda wanna try your hacks now though. Gimme a ring, Ronnie!